Who watches the Watchers?

Here's a new tale I've spun that involves a few of us in the forum!! I'm being pretty rushed here n it won't be elaborate or brain-churning, and I hope u guys'll forgive me if your characters turn out funny...

"...I believe we're still in the matrix!..."
"...I do too...I know its crazy but..."

Crahan grinned a small, lopsided grin to himself. It wasn't of dismissal or contempt at the newbies at the forum, but of a knowing...he made a note of their names and stretched back in his chair.
Crahan was a man in his late twenties, but his eyes and hard lines of his face showed age far beyond the chronological. He was dressed in black throughout, down to his short leather coat he hadn't seen fit to remove. In the quiet confines of the computer repair shop late in the night, no one was there to interrupt as he browsed the latest entries in his forum...
He had created with the help of others, a forum in which people from all over the world could talk in and discuss all about a series of films more true to life than the Discovery Channel...the Matrix. He was a moderator...he smirked a little at the thought. So much parallels with the other sentinels of a certain other system. He breathed deeply as he considered the interesting things he had read in the forum this time around...his visits were getting more and more infrequent now. The agents...
...He caught sight of a poll about agents and freedom fighters. How apt!...he shook his head a little with the irony. Of course the Matrix existed. How it was revealed to a certain pair of brothers and how the truth evaded the attempts to hide it long enough to come out as a movie to reach the people with a certain amount of the truth was a long and sordid story...wat mattered was the Truth in some form or other existed out there right under the noses of the people...
Some things were different of course. The events pertaining to the fictional and heroic crew of the Nebechadnezzar never happened:there hadn't been a One or a Morpheus at all. Freed people had more powers in the simulation than shown-even the details of how humans were grown for their ELECTRICITY...that was funny. Wat remained was the fact that people were still enslaved by the billions by machines they had intended to rule. Though the efforts of the valiant few continued through actions like those of Captain Crahan and those under his command, nothing seemed to bring the humans any closer to freedom...and there were always the agents. Those were as accurately represented as possible unfortunately. Crahan grimaced at the men he had lost to the unfeeling guardians of the forbidden world....but so far he and his crew had always stayed one step away from them...right now he knew he was being traced from his forum. No matter:he would jus move again soon...where would it be this time? Somewhere on the other side of the worlf-China perhaps?

Crahan's closed eyelids fluttered a little as he lay motionless. His tattered clothes caused a chill in his frail body that was not felt by his faraway mind. Close by, beyond the bank of equipment meant to monitor his vital signs and brain activity, lay the coma-like bodies of more of his crew. All showed plugs on their bodies...sign of their earlier...enslavement to the system they now fought so hard to unravel. Moving silently among them was another man, medium built which implied a certain respectable level of health.
Truth checked the values of the motionless Sight against the data streaming in on his activities in the matrix. So far so good...he glanced up at Backdoor, busy on the operator's chair. He returned the look with a wry smile:looks like Sight wasn't sparing anything tonight...especially against Mac...
The alarm blared. Both looked up in shock that quickly turned to horror as they recognized the tone. Truth dashed past the panicking operator to his main seat forward of their hovercraft the Nautilus and scanned the sensors. What he saw was far from good news.

Crahan was startled by the loud chirp of his handheld. It didn't stop his automatic reaction though and the device was to his ear and extended in less than a second. There could only be one person on the other end.
"-What is it?"
"-We got Sentinels boss. Pack yer bags-"
His head whipped up.

-To be continued.

Hope u liked that. Dun worry more characters n their development are coming and i guarantee no-one will miss out on the action!...jus gimme time...

Sounds like somebody's beginning to realize. We need an extraction team in here now. We must get to him before the agents do.



Errr, I guess I shouldn't be posting this publicly.... :D

This is great! A good start, Macleod, I'm already waiting feverishly for the rest! But one little thing- you made me a guy! :C

Truth you're a girl? OMG I jus made an embarrassing mistake!!...Alright let's change that abit shall we?


Crahan straightened, all his senses peaked. He immediately initiated a shutdown of his computer; monitoring its readouts for any traces of interference in the system or a successful Trace.
"-What? How long?"

In his chair Backdoor flicked his eyes over the screens trying to make sense of what he now saw. He pressed his headset closer to his ears. "I know sir they came outta nowhere-five units, bearing down the tunnels for us. We sensed them through the maze we put ourselves in so they still have to navigate a bit but it won't take that long sir." He punched up a map of Crahan's current position in the matrix. "And most of you folk are miles away from any hardline I can find."

Crahan raised an incredulous eyebrow.
"Oh really? Look this won't be a problem. Give me the nearest exit we got and tell the others to head for it. And tell them to hurry!"
"-It isn't that simple sir. I've got weird activity all over the code-not in the immediate vicinity but...dang there it is again!...Sir get down to the Carson carpark hardline 4 miles east-hurry I read alotta activity there!"
Crahan rolled his eyes. "Wouldn't you get something more convenient?"
"Sorry sir but I can reach the other lines alla' the sudden-"
Now this was alarming. "Right then I'll be there. Heck I'll pick up Mac n Rumi along the way."
"Right sir. I'll hail 'em."
Glancing back at the blank screen Crahan surveyed the area one last time and pocketed his phone. Picking up his visor-like sunglasses he calmly slipped them on, then ran to the nearest window, a large one that covered the entire 3-meter height of the shop. Then with one leap he was away, rocketing through the night sky...

MacLeod slipped his fingers through his jet-black hair and grimaced. He looked at his computer screen and shook his head. Why he partnered Sight in this he'd never know. His young and tanned Asian features shone clearly in the harsh light of the small cubicle. Peeking over the short "wall" to the occupant of the next cubicle, he caught a sympathetic glance from his partner Rumi, also browsing the forum they took part regularly in. He couldn't help noticing his shifty look-the noisy and public LAN-game center wasn't exactly a good place to watch over a forum. The poor newbie-probably only a few years younger but definitely fitter and fairer-was probably having a nervous breakdown. The most dangerous place was always the safest MacLeod insisted but most people didn't seem to agree. Which brought him back to his current woe...
MacLeod and Sight had partnered to debate on points with as many people as they could find among the forum in their search for potentials-unfortunately to throw off anyone suspicious they were encouraged to argue with each other...the better also to invite others to raise points in an effort to take sides.
"Aye, but ye didn't have to soundly trounce all me' views-mercy kind sir!" Asian or no, his affinity for the Scottish burr intruded even into his thoughts. If he was unique, he felt, then Sight was an outright rebel. Still, he had every reason to being "freed" alot longer than most around, and he had a strong faith in his work...something MacLeod respected tremendously.
The phone rang, clear and piercing in the noise-dampened room. He answered, not bothering to give a vocal reply. Opposite he saw Rumi tap in with his own phone.
"-Mac? We've got trouble. Drop what you've got and head for the roof."
"Backdoor-what's wrong? Why the roof?" He initiated the shutdown and nodded when Rumi asked to do the same. Reaching for his brown overcoat, Mac removed a pair of round sunglasses and slipped them on.

On board the Nautilus, Backdoor punched up a few screens' worth of code and watched their content intently. "...It's a ship-wide evacuation Mac. Something's gone horribly wrong. I read...a trio heading for your level. Police have already cordoned off your mall. It gets worse-"
He was pushed into his chair as the hovercraft lurched. He could feel the thrusters thrumming as the ship began moving. "Things are definitely bad" he realised as the engines fired up "if Truth decided she has to move the Naut' while we got folk plugged in..."
"-We have Sentinels incoming. Get to the roof pronto; Crahan's coming by to pick you up."

MacLeod shut his phone and returned it into the folds of his overcoat, making sure his katana within was still securely fastened and hidden from view. Rumi was already good to go as he slipped on his black coat and looked about nervously.
Agents...and a trio as usual. Mac's jaw tightened. Though it was rumored that one could actually defeat an agent he had never seen anyone survive a confrontation nor was he about to see if he was going to be the first.
They exited the shop, making a beeline for the elevator. It wasn't too hard to miss them in the empty complex as most of the shops had closed for the night, and sure enough they caught sight of a squad of masked SWAT troopers storming the level below as the door closed on them. He didn't see any agents...
The elevator stopped unexpectedly on the floor above. The door opened to reveal two berettas trained...directly on the head of a startled woman who stumbled back in shock. Rumi dipped his gun in relief as he punched the "close" button. Mac shook his head slightly as if to offer apologies and deny her entry (not that she was going to now) but kept his gun trained on her. Just as the doors were an inch to closed though they saw the woman's eyes dart sideways in surprise-and then a hand slipped in and jammed the door, forcing it to re-open automatically. A Desert Eagle popped into sight followed by its owner:a tall and brawny man in a close-fitting black working suit with matchig rectangular glasses. It took all Rumi could to dodge the agent's gun as he opened fire within. Slamming to the ground, he looked up to the barrel of the handgun...to see it being kicked up and away by his partner. The agent wheeled to the new threat as MacLeod swung his gun forward. An instant later he fired.
The air directly around the man shimmered as the agent's torso moved at blinding speed to evade the bullets MacLeod fired at point blank range. The woman screamed and backed up against the wall in sheer disbelief as Mac emptied his cartridge into thin air. Whipping back into focus the agent started forward-only to be greeted by vicious blow to the stomach. He slammed back into the wall cratering the soft construction panels...but before he could land on his feet MacLeod swivelled backward. As if of one mind Rumi rose and fired his own gun. The agent tumbled lifelessly to the ground, peppered body converting back in an electrical fury to its previous owner.
Wasting no time Rumi punched the "close" button once again. As the door began to close however MacLeod raised his gun again. The woman looked up in shock from the dead body lying in front of her down into the barrel of the freshly reloaded automatic.
"Sorry." Was all MacLeod could say.
Then he fired.

Continued.
OK that's pat 2 so far...as u can see I'm beginning to go into detail...I got a feeling I'm gonna continue this alot more times. Dun worry I'm not gonna focus on myself so much...its after all a story involving everyone. If however I have confused the sex of anyone else please tell me! Sorry again Truth! :p

Hmm...funny. My post didn't seem to register on the forum's recent post checker. Are they showing properly?

LOL, no problem Macleod- how would you know? To quote Austin Powers 'she is rather mannish'. :D

Going great so far, though- can't wait to see what happens!

Part 3! Here we go...

MacLeod all but collapsed against the side of the elevator car as it began to move. Rumi was staring at him with the most accusing eyes he had ever seen. He tensed his jaw.
"What yer staring at? Anyone who isn't freed's one of Them. You know it. One almost blew me away on my first job here, and given the situation I wouldn't hesitate blowin' you away 'swell-now stay focused!"
He watched him look away, trying his very best to conceal his shaking hands as he grip the support bar. It was cold-blooded murder; his conscience screamed, no denying it. But he had to put up a brave front for his partner-his previous friend and mentor did too before he died some time back. Still, the effort left him shaken, as was the disbelief that they had not only survived an agent but killed his avatar as well.
They emerged on the roof with guns drawn, ready for anything. A quick sweep revealed nothing in the light of the breaking dawn...even the pigeons were still asleep. Rumi swung his pair of berettas back to cover the sole exit as MacLeod did a slow sweep around the area, looking out over the edge at the innumerable skyscrapers to all sides. It was clear that there was no other way off the building; fifteen stories high as they were.
Rumi shook his head, brown long hair swaying lazily in the breeze.
"I never knew I'd see something like this-it's just like the movie-you know, Morpheus teaching the One how to 'jump'..."
MacLeod squinted into the sun, his coat flapping slowly in the rising wind. He snapped open his phone with one brisk action and brought it up to his ear. He then looked upward and smiled.
"The One? Heh. Try 'Ones'."
With a blur of motion two figures slammed into the concrete ahead just an instant from each other. Impossible waves of force rippled on the floor around them for a second, then the tiles splintered.
Crahan straightened, followed by Sight. The second man was tall and imposing, clearly lean and more than able to pick and win his fight. He grinned under his thin moustache; the angular sunglasses he wore making him all the more imposing. Blond shoulder-length hair whipped around his face as he turned to the obviously mocking Crahan.
"Darn it boss I swear if it weren't for the new phone we got and me struggling to close it-"
"-Right, Sight. I gave you an ample headstart. Don't blame the gear when your legs brought you here."
Serious now, he turned back to MacLeod and the gaping Rumi. "I saw the squad cars on the way here." He smiled. "Looks like we have a situation here?"
"Yeah. An insecure line, an improvement in the system..."
"Or a leak?" Rumi chirped, approaching the group.
Crahan raised an eyebrow:he hadn't thought of that. "We'll find out later. For now we have to get out of here...be prepared:Backdoor says there's something wrong at the exit site."
MacLeod and Sight each got onto Crahan's and Sight's back as they prepared to leave. Though significant in extent, the powers each wielded weren't necessarily the same. Seeing the situation piggybacking was their only way out.
As Mac settled himself in Sight looked up and grinned evilly. "About that post you wrote..."
Before he could answer though MacLeod's phone rang. He engaged it, struggling to maintain his grip. Backdoor was to the point.
"Agents! Get outta there!!"
The heavy door on the roof exit buckled under severe stress. An instant later another blow sent it tearing off its hinges as three suited men emerged from the doorway. As one they drew their handguns and MacLeod struggled with his, dropping his phone. In response Rumi raised his hand in a fist toward the Agents even as the floor around the four men began to ripple.
Bullets streaked toward them in slow motion as they were fired, leaving contrails in the air as they zoomed straight at them....then were deflected as Rumi brought his powers to bear. As the deadly projectiles curved around them MacLeod was reminded again of the prodigy they were lucky to have recruited. Still he was worried at the considerable difference between two of the agents and the one they had tangled with earlier. They looked taller-brawner...also they had niftier looking earpieces...did he detect a snarl on one of their faces?
An instant later the four were away, streaking into the morning sky.
Crahan smiled with relief at the getaway, wind tearing at his face and hair at a hundred miles an hour. Suddenly he had a strong sense of something wrong...he turned back and watched in horror as two of the Agents streaked THROUGH THE AIR right on their tail! Too late to warn the rest-he banked hard to the left as an Agent rushed by him, outstretched hand missing him by inches.
MacLeod and Sight weren't so lucky. With the approximate force of a cannon ball the trio collided with the grace of bowling pins and cartwheeled out of control. Separated, they hurtled through the air for a few seconds, then spun in a dead loop back down to earth.
"Mac!" Rumi screamed.
"No time kid-we need to look after ourselves!!" He dove around as the Agent came at him again...
Back on the ground the sole Agent walked over to the dropped phone. It buzzed with the worried calls of Backdoor as he picked it up. Looking at the display for just a second, he disconnected his earpiece and brought the phone up to the reciever...

On the Nautilus, Backdoor slammed into his seat yet again as Truth sent the hovercraft into yet another climb through the endless tunnels. He shuddered as the ship struck something that made its shields shimmer...then shuddered again. And again. Looking back he heard a brief cry of panic from the cockpit and cursed. "Truth-?"
Truth struggled with the controls, tanned skin spotted in several places from electrical burns. She swept auburn hair from her sweat-streaked brow and yelped again as the console sparked brightly with another discharge. Her big eyes widened more as she gaped with confusion. "-It isn't me! Something's gone wrong with the controls-the damn thing's got a mind of its own!" She scanned the wild readings with frantic eyes. "Help!"
Backdoor cursed, then spotted the glitch in the code before his very eyes. His jaw fell open. "Mother of..."
Then he fell silent as he launched into a battle of his own against the rebeling system as it threatened to end the lives of his fellow shipmates...

Somewhere in what served to be Australia UltimateTrinity logged off and shut her computer down. Dressed in white with hair to match, she put on her similarly coloured lady's jacket and slipped on her orange visor as she swiftly exited the stark apartment and headed for the building's exit one floor down. Passing by a teenager who gaped at the sight of her unique look, she didn't break her stride as he whispered to himself in amazement:"Switch! Omigod that's..."
She smiled slightly to herself. Already in her mid thirties and already mother of a child back...home, this was a compliment to one such as her. Sure she was pale to and strikingly similar to a character in the legendary movie, but to give such strong impressions all the time...
Suddenly she doubled up in pain. Waves of agony swept through her as she slammed up against a wall breathlessly. Something was wrong-was someone changing the matrix? She scanned the building through haze-filled eyes and convulsed with another breataking wave of pain. Not now, not when she was leaving as she was told! Where were the others? Would Crahan arrive in time to help her? She reached for her phone and activated the program that would dial directly to the Operator. Nothing happened...and then more pain filled her world. Helpless and reeling her legs buckled under her as she tumbled the last few steps down the stairs into a confused heap. Her last thought as the pain faded into dark unconsciousness was of her son...

Continued

Alright! Man what a chapt....seems I need more space nowadays to describe the same number of scenes...stay tuned!

The tension! The suspense! Come on, Macleod- gimme more! (Yes I know you only just posted this one, but I'm already desperate for the next :D) Thanks for putting me in it btw- it's cool reading about myself, and the guys I chat with.

UT: Bye hun wish I had more time to chat but I need to go. Get some sleep: it's morning over there if I'm not wrong. Bye now!

Andrea frowned and sipped on more coffee. Then she shrugged and with a click Oracle2.0 left the forum. It was a good thing that she was on holiday:with the people she had grown attached to in this treasure trove of views and ideas logging on in the hellish times they did (probably due to where they lived) this was all she could do to establish a "face-to-face" contact. It was a stroke of luck that the one she could really connect to was on-line when she had sleepily logged on at 4am:she had woken up a tad immediately after that chatting with her. MacLeod and Truth sometimes were active at the same time, dissecting ethics with Backdoor in between, but lately he was engaged with a crossfire with Sight that withered everyone in between. With Truth as well as most others not around she found no reason to stay...
Opening a window she took a breath of fresh city air. Gathering her short curls back into a bun she closed her brown eyes as she soaked in the morning sun. Another beautiful day...nothing but lazing around...which she sure looked forward to. Some of the ideas the forum had were truly mind-boggling. She couldn't help but wonder herself at the possibility that the world mirrored the movie the forum revolved upon...sometimes too she wondered if she was being watched-gauged-for her posts. She couldn't help noticing the way the same people zoomed in onto her questions and ideas that were absurd to others. As if she was being tested...
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sudden loss of the sun's heat on her face. By the time she had opened her eyes though there was a loud crash on the alley below. Something had fallen out of the sky! In the quiet of the morning the ruckus was easily heard. Already a few people were milling about...she dashed back into her room as she got out of her pyjamas...

MacLeod's whole world blossomed with pain. Hardening himself against the impact from falling out of the sky was a basic enough thing:it just was far from perfect. From the sound of it Sight was coming to the same conclusion too. Several long seconds passed as his mind tried to remember the details of the last few seconds, make sense of what he was hearing, and figure out what to do. It was tough enough without opening his eyes...until he remembered the Agent that had fallen with them. He snapped them open instantly, then reeled from the kaleidoscope that he saw. Closing them again, he focused on healing himself as best as he could. He heard a clattering-
And his pistol snapped instantly over to point at a SWAT agent's head. His helmet had slipped off and bounced on the tarmac...though he wouldn't need it anymore. A snapped neck, just to begin with...MacLeod winced from the sight.
"-Are you Alright?"
Before he could even realize it was a voice he was hearing Mac heard the distinctive sound of a revolver being cocked and whirled around to see Sight pointing it unwaveringly on a young girl. She was possibly about 20, with short auburn hair and a look on her face that normally should have looked pretty pleasant. Now though it was filled with fear-he slapped the gun away as he suddenly remembered who she was.
"Are you crazy? Anyone can be one of Them-" Sight definitely weathered the fall alot better than he did.
"Look! She's one of the potentials! Orac-" Mac cursed as he remembered not to reveal anything...but it was too late.
"Potentials? What? Who are you? Did you just call him Sight? How did you just fall out of-" She was getting carried away now, fear long forgotten as they painfully got back onto their feet.

Stone splintered as a loud shot resounded in the alleyway. The trio jumped and turned on the new sound...then dodged for cover as more bullets sprayed the narrow space, Sight pulling the shocked Andrea with him.
The agent grimaced and stepped over the spilled groceries as he reloaded his Desert Eagle. The nearby old lady screamed as at the man who instants before was her husband-then was cut off by a strange sound that was something between a growl and a faulty microphone. An instant later another agent stepped up behind the former, followed by another as the hapless passers-by were assimilated by other agents swarming down for the kill. When it was finished, four agents filled the exit to the streets.
Andrea recoiled in horror as what was previously something that belonged to a movie played in real life before her. She screamed as they strode forward together...and was drowned out by the roar of Sight's revolver as he broke cover, followed closely by MacLeod as worked in unison to close the distance with the 4 men. Predictably, the men shimmered and blurred as they dodged the bullets with superhuman speed...then stopped as both guns went empty. With only a look at one another, the two men accepted what was to be their fate and charged headlong into the fray...

Truth wrapped what cloth she could tear from her sleeves around her burned wrists, thoughts of her modesty far from her mind. Cursing, she swore to whoever she hoped was watching over them that she would never let some virus take away her ship, then jerked as another jolt passed through her. Sweat poured unabated now as the cockpit's temperature rose. With a sickening sensation she realised that even if she could save the ship, it was very likely she herself would not survive. Shoving the fear and tears away, she gripped the control sticks of the rogue hovercraft and pushed her as far up a vertical tube as far as she can. Backdoor's gasp could be heard from the rear as he was slammed with several G's of force. Then with a quick prayer, Truth cut the power to everything but the life-support attached to the rest of the "comatose" crew. The ship went dark, then began to fall...

Man those 2 scenes came out so long! Too bad i dun have much time to do this...i'll be back soon. Hope this gets noticed...n Oracle2.0 sorry if I made any errors!

Great Macleod! I know I'm the cliche groupie now as I keep clamouring for more after every new post! But don't worry- you have at least one devoted fan! (in a not scary way :D)

Pt 5...I'm not sure if this thread is getting noticed :p

Crahan was having the time of his life.
In a way of course. As he burst through the 13th cloud in as much sky in the past 15 minutes he knew he was in trouble. His pursuer-the nightmare of an agent that was every bit as menacing as his build implied-was fast gaining, and Rumi's weight wasn't helping much. He had pulled every stunt he could imagine; turned every possible angle he could at almost supersonic speeds darn near knocking Rumi out-yet he still gained, learning and defeating his tricks at an astonishing rate. It wasn't as if he was born to fly-he could feel his strength fading fast. "Gotta ditch this load!-" Suddenly he grinned with an almost evil plan.
As soon as he had left the cloud the agent burst out from it hot on his tail. As he began formulating a plan he didn't notice the agent pull out his gun from his coat. Rumi did however and he yelled out a warning just before bullets filled the air. Cursing as one gouged a tear on his pant leg, Crahan spotted a particularly large cloud and dove yet again to it. Bullets drove funnels into the cloud as he punched his way through and was soon lost in the whiteness.
Crahan had no doubts the agent would find them though but this time he was counting on it. As the agent's magazine ran out Crahan found the end of the cloud and burst through to the air, yelling at Rumi as soon as he was clear.
"Listen up kid-this guy isn't going to let up on this chase any time soon:I've a plan and I need you to do me a favor-don't panic whatever I'm going to do next!"
He came to an abrupt stop and turned back to face his tormentor...then promptly grabbed Rumi and flung him upwards into the air. As he realised what was happening to him and began to scream, Crahan smiled tightly...then dove straight the opposite direction-down.
An instant later bullets ripped through the cloud at Rumi as the agent locked onto his scream. Faced with imminent danger his only recourse was to focus once again on the incoming bullets...and once again they slowed...rippled...bent...and when Rumi next opened his eyes the death that was sure to claim him had sped deftly past.
What greeted his eyes after that was more terrifying. The agent burst out of the cloud like a vision from hell, bearing down on his prey at near the speed of sound with a look on his grim face that Rumi swore was to be the most scariest thing he would ever see his whole life. His spent Desert Eagle fell behind him almost as an afterthought as he stretched both arms out in a gesture that was anything like a warm hug. Rumi knew from the agent's speed and his inability to control his slowing ascent that he was doomed:the agent's next blow was definitely intended to be his last. He closed his eyes...and was surprised he couldn't any of his life flashing past him.
The agent bore down on Rumi like a Lion on deer and he drove his arms down to him as he reached to break him in two-then was slammed upwards by a blur of movement. Showing no sign of pain, he focused on his new threat as Rumi grinned up at him. "Gotcha, sucker." He bared his teeth fiercely up at him. The agent snarled in frustration and fury at his assailant...then noticed the gun pressed at his stomach.
"See ya later." Crahan's smile turned into a snarl of his own.
Blood and lightning filled the air above as Rumi realised he was safe and opened his eyes...only to widen them as his momentum was finally reversed and he began to fall...and then he was once again atop Crahan, his savior looking back up to grin at him. "...What did I tell ya?"
As the spent body of the agent fell past them back down to earth, the duo prepared to leave-then Crahan recoiled abruptly as Rumi clung on in shock. He recovered quickly though, and Rumi looked down on him with a worried look.
"...I'm alright:but something's wrong. For a moment there I thought I was falling..."

The Nautilus plummeted in the darkness as Backdoor hung on for dear life. He was too busy to scream...too busy now to even realise what their descent might mean for them as he struggled against his computer for UT's life. He had managed to force the invasive program away from the other ship's systems and computer core now that power was cut and had isolated it in UT...but she was taking the brunt of its murderous programming almost in payment for the rest. The oldest member of the ship's crew as well as the others now lay in his hands for the next few precious minutes as he battled a war of fast eyes and fingers. His almost-shaved head was slick with sweat that dripped down hisearmick threatening to short its workings. Fair, rough skin shining in the pale emergency lights, he pushed away the more worrying thought of the far larger responsibility his other shipmate held...
Truth's hands were now bleeding and the cloth was beginning to char, but the controls were no longer tormenting her. In fact the controls were no longer doing anything and she fought the disorientating weightlessness and ducked downwards(sideways?) to the guts of the console hotwiring and diverting circuit and switch after the other. Pushing back fear and doubt she crossed her fingers as she flipped the last switch and hot-started the power systems to the flight controls. Hopefully they would reset...the ship was now fast approaching terminal velocity as it ran out of space to fall through-then with a flash of light and energy the ship jerked and surged with power as Truth whooped a cry of victory. Gripping now-compliant controls she pushed the throttle full opened and grinned in tight satisfaction as Backdoor grunted with the G-forces.

Ultimate Trinity gasped as consciousness returned through the haze of pain that did not quite lift. She lay there for countless seconds grabbing at the shattered parts of her sanity and taking stock of where she was...then remembered. As she struggled to get up a figure approached through the haze that filled her vision. He seemed large in the harsh sunlight blaring in from behind through a window and she could barely make out his form...he kneeled down to where she was and pushed her gently back down. Struck by a sudden rush of vertigo and pain she had not the strength to protest as again she convulsed with agony. Whispering soothing words, the man carefully paced his words so that she could hear.
"Relax, you're in grave danger. You cannot face it alone, and definitely not by stressing yourself."
"What...who..." Her voice came out strained and weak, her face paling far more than her usual tone.
"You have been affected by an invasive program uploaded into your ship that was threatening to kill and destroy everyone and everything on board. Your valiant friend has isolated it in you and even now fights to save you, but it is a losing battle. It will only be a matter of time."
The memory of Backdoor came slowly to her mind. 'My child; thank God he's away from this...' she could make out now the features of the mysterious man. He was a caucasian with brown hair and a beard that grew thinly around his entire mug. Blue eyes shone that looked as if the universe was contained within, and she could make out a smile that was the warmest she had ever seen. He was dressed in an unassuming brown jacket over a white shirt and jeans.
"All that matters...is the crew..." She choked with the effort.
"No, I believe it won't. Not if I can help it."
"...Who...?"
"-Not now."
Then UT's consciousness began to fade. She could hardly find the strength to fight the arriving oblivion. Everything faded to black as her eyes closed before she could muster a final thought...

A keen beep resounded in the chamber as Backdoor's face twisted in failure and grief. He had tried; he told himself...and in the noise of the engines and life support machine's warning tone he sobbed for a friend and mentor departed.

The mysterious man closed his eyes in acknowledgement of the situation and shook his head. His brow furrowed in concentration as he scowled in a look of defiance of her passing and slowly raised his hand, placing it above a spot just between her lifeless eyes. Light began to emanate from the two as his first two fingers slowly extended from his fist...then he touched her brow and pressed, lightly.

A gasp echoed through the chamber silencing the life-support machine as Backdoor snapped his head up in disbelief. His eyes bulged with disbelief as he watched UT's lifesigns snap back with activity, all traces of the virus suddenly erased. Uttering a loud prayer to every god he could think of he dove back into his work as Truth at the cockpit smiled shakily at the sudden miracle. She pulled the ship back into the depths of the tunnels as the sensors showed the Sentinels closing in rapidly...
<continued>

I'm reading it. And lovin it too. fallen a bit behind though. I'm on part 4

The forum wouldn't let me squeeze too many words into my previous post so I'm forced to continue here...enjoy! <Dark laugh>



UT looked up in disbelief, too dazed and shocked to move. The man smiled warmly again as he helped pull her to her feet. He answered her unasked question just as she struggled to find the words...
"I've been with your ship's valiant crew for some time and have noted your efforts. Your crew are a tremendous force for good and have a destiny to fulfil...I'm just doing my part to help."
"Who-?"
He grinned wider. "Ah...I've been known by many names. For now I think you might find it apt to call me...Neo."
She chuckled weakly. Another Neo...well at least he didn't look like that actor Reeves...MynameisNeo? NeotheOne?...
He seemed to sense her thoughts and chuckled softly. "No...just Neo."
She began to ask more, but was distracted by the sounds of cars screeching to a halt outside the building. She looked through the windows to see dozens of suited assault teams deploy from a barricade being hastily set up.
"They are after you and I cannot stay long. You cannot let them succeed:you and your companions have a large role to fulfil. Till next time..."
She snapped her head around about to ask him just what he meant...then looked around in shocked at the suddenly empty room. Then she took stock of the situation and dashed up the stairs. As she heard the front door collapse under a fierce impact, she flipped open her mobile.

"Operator." Backdoor put his hand to his radio in immense relief.
"Good; you finally answered."
"-Long story Ma'am, Good to have you back, old as it sounds."
"...No time, Backdoor. Do like your name suggests-quickly?"
"Aye Ma'am. Get up to the roof. You're just a few roads away from an exit point. I'll get Crahan down for an intercept-one getaway in 3 mites." He was grinning from ear to ear...all the more made better by the sudden unlocking of his programs' access to the matrix and most importantly the exit points. Whatever that man did to UT, he didn't just do it to her...

Rounding another stairwell UT collapsed her phone and drew her gun. She looked up at the inviting sunroof as she donned her visor. 3 minutes and 3000 unanswered questions...time to hop to it.

She started up the stairs.

2 scenes again...this is shaping to be some novelized epic...hope it's getting noticed though...yoohoo out there! :D

As usual- your biggest fan! Amazing! More, more more!

...Dunno how I found the time to do this but here I am again...thanks Choi.

MacLeod gasped for breath in the cold morning air...
...And was bowled over by a hard tackle straight to the gut. He sailed past Sight who had narrowly managed to avoid an agent's punch while keeping another arm's pinned. Not daring to stop and look, he jabbed his opponent in the eyes and hammered him to the side with a vicious backhand. Spinning back around he dodged another agent's blow and then kicked off his stunned torso to whip back around and punch another incoming agent's head...
Through the chaos in the alley Andrea pulled back in fear and total disbelief. She blinked hard as her eyes dodged from one person to another in the blur of movement that had 2 stylishly dressed men and...an uncountable number of suited men by now. Memories of similar situation she had seen elsewhere came to her...yet through it all she did not feel the urge to run; to get away from it all. From a safe distance she watched in concern for two men she had, for only months before, known as faceless entities behind the anonymous safety of the Matrix forum...they were not doing well. With all the fury and damage they were dishing out, not one of the suited men stayed down for long, and they seemed joined with each minute by more of their kind. The two men on the other hand were tiring fast and though they tried hard not to show it the panic was clear on their faces. Suddenly one of the agents spotted her and frowned. To her abject terror he then seemed to make up his mind on something and started purposefully toward her as she edged slowly backwards...
Sailing through the air, Sight recovered from the throw and gathered his bearing. Looking up and sighting a wooden post used to bar the way to a closed off section of the alley, he caught hold of it as he passed by and swung round it to land firmly feet-first on the ground, and in the same smooth motion he pulled it off the ground. With his new weapon he dove back toward the thick throng, twirling it at a maddening speed above his head-then started bludgeoning foes to and fro in a slow advance toward MacLeod.
Mac himself was hard-pressed to stay mobile, being less fit than his opposite. Dodging the best he could out of one grapple and arm lock after the other he managed to keep his five opponents at bay, and after knocking his latest opponent off his feet he turned to the source of wooden cracks and thuds. He grinned incredously at the sight of his unstoppable friend closing the 20-meter gap between them...then was caught off guard by a punch to the gut. As another ame at him from the side in an attempt to lock him down for another blow he spun out of his reach and caught hold of his arm in turn, rotating his whole body about the agent's back for a kick at another ambushing agent from behind-then was knocked yet again off the air by a marauding assailant and propelled helplessly for a good 3 meters. Landing hard, he got up to the sight of five more agents jumping down to him...and then he was buried in a mountain of blows and bodies.
Temporarily clearing the vicinity about him Sight looked up and saw with dismay the plight of his friend. Out of the corner of his eye though he spotted the rest of the enemy closing in for the kill and turned to face them. They seemed to intensify their advanced as he faced them and then suddenly a shout rang through the air.
"-Save yourself! Get to the exit before its Too Late!!"
Turning back Sight widened his eyes at the horrible meaning of his words as he saw his friend disengage himself briefly...then was engulfed in agents again. He was suddenly slammed from behind by the closest agent, followed closely by the rest ready to neutralize him like they did the other. Planting his feet down against the momentum of the impact Sight propelled his tangled opponent off his body then swung the rod in a low arcabout him, knocking everyone off their feet. Spinning back to a stop he darted his head back and forth at the unstoppable tide of enemies that faced him...then decided he didn't have a choice. The floor rippled beneath him just for a second, and then he was gone.
Half the agents looked up at their fleeing quarry and frowned:a few moments later 5 of the larger, tougher-looking men launched themselves into the air in hot pursuit. There was more than enough left to handle the two left behind...
Andrea shrieked as she backed into the wooden posts fencing off the corner of the alley she was in. From an angle behind the corner of a wall the agent approached, grim and foreboding. She tried her best to drive herself deeper into her corner in a helpless gesture, then swallowed as the agent drew his handgun and pointed it squarely at her head.
"Only human." There was just that tiny hint of disgust in that deep voice.
Suddenly light shone through the cracks of the fencing illuminating the agent's surprised face as he looked up. An instant later the side of the fence burst open in a shower of wooden splinters as a Chevy Camaro slammed into the alley. Unable to react in time the agent was rammed head-on and driven down the alley for some distance before the car screeched to a halt and he was catapulted back into a brick wall, shattering the stone.

On the Nautilus Backdoor grinned a sadistic smile of tight satisfaction as he stared at walls of code.
"Gotcha..."

The car's occupant, a man with shades, a short brown beard and hair and medium build, poked his head out the window and looked back at Andrea, staring at the vehicle in disbelief.
"-Come with me if you want to-" He stopped himself. "...Just come!" He waved his hand as if to emphasize his words. Without thinking Andrea dashed forwards and got in, squirming into the back seat. The car wasted no time in reversing and starting down the alley after the other soul in peril...
MacLeod, temporarily freeing himself again, kicked an opponent grabbing his leg away...then was hit squarely in the jaw by another and spun a good distance back into a wall. He collapsed on the ground, spent and dazed. Bleeding and bruised in a dozen places he had not the strength to pull himself together and stand. The agents around him gathered together and started back in to finish him off, then stopped as they heard rather than saw the oncoming demon on wheels.
"Like deer on a highway!-" The man in the driver's seat yelled as he plowed into the mass of bodies. They tumbled and spun away in all directions shattering the windscreen slightly. He braked hard just as he reached the bleeding heap of a man collapsed at the wall, poking his head up to yell at him.
"-Mac!"
"The voice floated in through the haze and brought him back to consciousness. MacLeod looked up with a Herculean effort and squinted at the car and its occupants in disbelief.
"...Gotta get out of here! C'mon get up! We don't have time-get up!" The man was yelling anxiously at him. He rolled his head slowly back and grimaced, then tried hard to get up fighting the wave of vertigo as he did.
In the back of the car Andrea looked back at the tanned Asian wobbling on his feet step by laborious step toward them. She looked back at the agents getting up from where they had fallen, then snapped back to look at him. It was as though he had not moved at all..."He's not gonna make it." She whispered. Then she opened the door and dove back into the alley and danger; back for the man she never knew but felt compelled to help...
MacLeod's world spun and danced almost taunting him as he stumbled weakly to the car. Unconsciousness threatened to claim him as he heard the man give a startled cry, then his legs gave way as he collapsed...to the firm hold of waiting arms. Looking up weakly he glimpsed the face of the girl he had seen earlier as she pulled him back towards the car...then he was safely inside, the door slamming behind him as it sped away, knocking over another agent.

Breathing hard, MacLeod gathered his strength and focused inward as he immediately set about healing his battered body. The girl looked at him with concern showing deeply in her eyes, but she kept quiet, not knowing if she should say anything. She looked back up toward the front and saw the driver look up the rear-view mirror at her, grinning like he just heard a joke.
"He's alright kid."
"I'll be the judge of that" Mac coughed.
Making up her mind Andrea spoke. "What's going on? Who are you? Why did like the whole matrix series just happen back in that alley?"
The man chuckled "Sometimes I think they shouldn't have made that movie."
It didn't answer her question. She looked back to the other man in frustration...then gasped as she saw his face, significantly healed. He took in a deep breath, then looked back at her in the eyes. Then he shrugged.
"...Look this'll probably be the worst thing to do but I feel I owe you as much, 'Oracle. I'm MacLeod, from the forum. You know me."
She nodded mutely, her expression somewhat disbelieving. He didn't seem to notice it.
"And this guy up front is a friend of mine. You've seen my fellow punching bag Sight back there in the alley; now let me introduce you...to Choi."
...He looked away from his driving to grin widely at her, mirrored shades reflecting her startled expression.

There we go! An amazing length for one scene, dun u think? N tks fer sticking ard Truth! :D

Mac, I love this! can't wait for the next installment! hey, my hair really is auburn. freaky. btw, i live in the U.S., i'm not sure whether that's relavant, but it's just something to add to my character. This series is so good, I'm spreading the word!
p.s.
interesting that u made me 20. I'm not that old yet, but oh well. Keep this stuff coming!!!

...Wat a coincidence:I was choosing a hair color for ya n I wanted a different one. Since I already had the usuals like brown and blond "auburn" came easily to mind...not that I know wat color that is exactly LOL tks fer the support.
...It's good that you live there 'cos my story is set mostly in the States in a loose way....it wouldn't be the matrix elsewhere. I dun live there though so u can imagine the trouble I'm having visualizing everything...I'll see u all next installment!

With a blink, Choi had turned back to his driving.
With a slight frown Andrea kept staring at the chuckling man as he negotiated a tight turn. She turned on the sound of a pained cough to MacLeod and studied the Asian man instead. He stared back with a similarly suspicious expression before he closed his eyes and went back to his "healing". Trying hard not to be unsettled, she spoke in a low voice, as though scared someone might listen.
"All that...what you guys did; what happened;...the Matrix...it's real, isn't it?"
He merely winced and tilted his head, eyes still closed, at her. Then he nodded, slowly. "It's real alright. More than you know." Choi glanced quickly back at them through the rear-view mirror.
Andrea swallowed, taking in the staggering statement. Right now, with all that had happened the past fifteen minutes, she found a surprisingly total trust in the two men and their words. Deep down, she knew she had been waiting for those words all her life. Her eyes widened as she realized something. Before anyone could react she grabbed one of Mac's hands that still held his freshly reloaded gun and brought it up to her forhead.
"What're you-crazy!?" Choi almost reached backward, throwing the car crazily off-course. MacLeod merely stared at her with an eyebrow raised.
Feeling a calmness she had no idea she had, she looked unflinchingly back at him. "Anyone's an Agent; one of them. You're not safe with me." She felt the heat of the still-warm barrel and tried hard to quash her overwhelming fear.
There was a tense moment. Then, keeping the rest of his face absolutely still, Mac raised the corner of his mouth in a bitter smile. Then he promptly squeezed.
Andrea closed her eyes abruptly and flinched with the sharp click...then flinched again with the sound of the ejected magazine hitting the backseat. She looked up again in shock and confusion. Choi merely sighed.
MacLeod held her gaze for another moment, then smiled even more broadly. "Such selflessness...and purpose." He looked back at Choi "...I think she's ready, alright." He grinned back. Mac looked back at her. "Now can you let go?"
Shivering with confusion and the tension of the past minute, she mutely did.

UT emerged on the roof of the apartment. Squinting in the 7am sun, she turned back on the closed door of the only exit and started rigging a grenade to the hinge. One of her specialties, she always prided herself in being prepared. No good having an agent spoil a getaway in the last moment. Besides, 300+ ball bearing ought to do what a magazine of bullets can't...
There was a loud thud, and then UltimateTrinity turned back to the sight of Crahan getting up from a crouch, Rumi stepping off his back onto the pulverized impact crater. She smiled and glanced at her watch. "Right on time..."
She walked up to Crahan as they smiled. "Hello Ma'am!" said Rumi as he grinned rather much like a fawning kid. "...Man you can't imagine the crazy things that happened to us just now...we were fighting..."
She smiled; Mother-like. "I'm sure of it. But I don't quite think it'll faze me with what I've been through just now."
Now they looked a little confused. She became serious now. "Anyway, we've got to go now. Backdoor gave us a new coordinate and we don't have much time to get to it." They nodded and Crahan slipped his arms around them, one each.

Just behind the exit the Agent walked up to the door and was about to open it when his hand stopped just before the doorknob. He raised a hand to his earpiece, then backed off. Turning to the side he spoke to his SWAT team in clipped tones. "You; breach it." The nearest member nodded, then went up to the door...

The trio snapped their heads up in unison as the doorway at the exit exploded violently, blood and stone erupting in all directions. As the cloud cleared UT reacted, throwing another hand-crafted explosive...right as the agent walked out of the dust. As the second explosion ripped across the roof, the trio wasted no time. The floor under Crahan began to ripple...

The remaining agent grimaced in shock and fear at the destruction and loss of his companions. He looked back out of cover to survey the situation...then cried out in horror as his voice and entire body shimmered and stretched. Another entity superimposed itself on his image...then the phenomenon ended, the agent once again resurrected in the SWAT member's place...He stepped out into the roof, but it was too late. The blur of his fleeing quarry disappeared quickly into the clouds.

In the quiet of the subway, a payphone started ringing, piercing the tomb-like silence. Moments later, the trio ran down the stairs to the landing, cautiously covering the distance to the phone. Reaching it first, Crahan picked up the receiver and handed it to the other man. Rumi accepted the offer gratefully, looking down almost in wonder at the piece of life imitating art. Holding it up cautiously, he halted for a second almost for dramatic tension, then pressed it to his ear. His entire body shimmered; turned transparent...and then was gone, the reciever suddenly released and falling...then was caught by Crahan's waiting hand.
Looking up and about as he replaced it, he saw UT covering the entire area with her automatic, taking no chances. Looking back at him she nodded. "You first." He smiled as it rang and wasting no time brought the reciever up to his own ear. The subway blacked out for a second, then UT was alone. She re-hooked the receiver, then whipped around at the sudden feeling of a presence.
There, waiting just a few meters away in a fluorescent pool of light, stood Neo. He smiled a small, knowing smile as he caught her attention, then nodded slightly. Lowering her automatic, she couldn't help looking surprised, then smiled a little in return. The sudden ringing of the payphone made her glance back...then when she turned back he was gone. She remembered a line she had read once in a book, longer ago-something about "Who watches the Watchers"...and then nodded to no-one in particular. She turned back to the phone...

Ultimate Trinity gasped and opened her eyes to the sight of Backdoor grinning from ear to ear. "Thank goodness you're back ma'am-and just in time too. I thought I lost you there-"
She frowned and got up as he replaced the jack. "-Wait. What 'just in time'?"
He blinked as he remembered. "Oh, yeah. You'd best come with me."

Crahan fought his way into the cockpit as the ship lurched again. Noting Truth deep in concentration he slipped automatically into the co-pilot's position, then strapped himself in. He stole a glance at her, then did a quick double take. Breathless, she looked back at her captain as he noted the burned arms, then followed them up her shapely but fit body up to her torn shirt. She realized suddenly what he was staring at, and suddenly self-conscious, she looked down, then up in horror, whipping her arms up to cover her exposed flesh. The ship suddenly pitched uncontrollably and then the two turned back to the controls and dove back into their work; all thoughts of the awkward situation pushed back into the backs of their minds. Formost now was the perilous plunge through the unending tunnels...and the steady alarm getting louder as their holographic radar displayed the closing threat...

Stumbling into their respective seats, UT and Rumi activated the controls to the gun turrets and swung the double-barreled machine guns around to cover the fleeing ship's rear. Just in time-as Backdoor rushed back into the main deck and his seat UT looked up to see searchlights probing the corner they had just turned down...followed by their source...the speeding, writhing forms of half a dozen Sentinels, their octoid bodies shining menacingly in the glow of the Nautilus's engines. She swallowed in dread and cursed silently. Muttering a prayer, she then grabbed the controls tightly and swung down to bear on her first target. Almost in unison, four barrels of fully automatic death opened fire...

....Yeah! Finally a chapt covering this many characters at once...hope u all liked it! :D

We did :)

The hovercraft Nautilus echoed with the sounds of gunfire. Two double-barreled, high-caliber machine-guns spat their payload in a continuous stream of sparks and tracers, impacting with deadly effect on their targets. Sentinels spasmed and wheeled crazily in all directions as they tried to close the distance but were kept at bay. As the ship sped through intersection after intersection in the gloomy subterranean tunnels though more and more of its pursuers poured into the seething mass behind it, and the two gunners were more and more hard-pressed.
In the cockpit, interior lights were a dull, pulsing red to save energy. Truth, relinquishing her controls to her stronger and less injured captain, sat back in her seat trying to balance power ratios and make sense of sensor readings. She looked up from her maps to the next intersection. It was a Y-junction, with one exit leading upwards to the surface and safety, and one collapsed tunnel leading back down to the madness of the depths. As Crahan began guiding the ship upwards she cursed and dove at his controls, throwing him off-guard.
"-Are you crazy? We're going down!" He yelled, fighting her.
"-Broadcast depth! We can't leave the tunnels Captain!"
Now it was his turn to curse. "That tunnel's uncharted!"
"-We don't have a choice!"
And they didn't. Shields flaring, the tough vessel rammed through several meters' worth of debris and barreled on without pause down the newly opened tunnel. Moments later the flood of Sentinels followed them in.
Rumi grunted as he was smashed into his seat hard. It took awhile to recover his grip on the controls and his orientation, and when he finally did he realised the lapse in gunfire had given their relentless pursuers that much more of an advantage. He blinked as he noticed an oddity in the obscene tangle of limbs and electronic eyes merely a hundred meters away...was that a bigger Sentinel he was seeing?...It had different coloured sensors...and what was that thing perched on its "shoulder"...?
UltimateTrinity spotted it at about the same time and immediately swivelled around to bracket it...when suddenly the "thing" glowed and an intense red beam of energy flashed out. The hit was direct; the effect instantaneous. The ship's shields flashed intensely at the point of impact nearly overloading, and everyone onboard was jolted hard in their seats as the reactional impact shook the ship hard. Power to the engines and hover units flickered for an instant and the ship slid out of control...only to slowly struggle back on course as Crahan and Truth laboured for control.
Crahan gritted his teeth against the pain as a conduit above him blew out showering him with sparks. Not taking his eyes of the controls he yelled backwards. "What the hell was That?!"
UT aligned her aim and squeezed the trigger, hard. To her horror the rain of shells glanced off the menacing machine amidst blueish flashes, merely fazing it. "...I don't know," she yelled out as she kept up the pressure. Out of the corner of her eye she saw yet another wave of reinforcements with more of the improved killing machines. "...But they've got shields...and numbers!!..."
Back in the main central deck Backdoor hunched over his interface, braced hard against his chair and pressing his earmike hardto block out the noise. "...I said; i can't help you now Mac! We haven't the power nor safe distance to establish a reliable upload link..we have to find somewhere to set down and then pull you out! What-no, get to the East Kensington district hardline...it's the most reliable I have! Stay there and dig in-I'll try to get Sight over there and get you all out ASAP...we won't have much time with the Sentinels on us to get you out once you're ready-repeat hold your position at the coordinates I gave you!!" He cut the call and called up another screen displaying codes petaining to Sight's position. His face fell. "Oh no..."

The duo fell with superhuman speed into an alley to land in a garbage pile. They rolled, but the Agent recovered faster. Taking Sight winded and unprepared he kicked his rolling form sending him careened back into the heap. Garbage tumbled unceremoniously down on him. The agent straightened his tie and stepped forward-and suddenly the heap erupted, With Sight in the midst of the detritus propelling himself forward with both arms outstretched in fists. He knocked the agent full into the air and continued out to fly in a low rising arc to the top of the nearest building. Landing with a dull crunch of shattered concrete, Sight immediately extended his handphone. "I need an exit!"
"You need to rendezvous at East Kensington-it's the only way I can get you out simultaneously! I can't risk wasting power twice uploading you out...it's just a couple miles south but watch out-you have five nasties!"
He turned round and spotted his pursuers; closing fast. He hadn't the strength to fly any more; he would have to hoof it. "I know Backdoor...I'll be there!" He collapsed the cell and took a deep breath as he prepared to jump off the building and into the cover of the deserted series of buildings below. "...Here we go..."

"...Kensington. We're here." MacLeod was out the door before the car had even bounced back on its suspension. He headed for the building they had parked nearby watching for anyone unlucky enough to be observing. Andrea followed closely, followed by Choi as he turned off the engine. They entered the deserted apartment building and climbed the large winding staircase to the third floor where MacLeod walked up to one of the curtains. He drew it back slightly letting in light that seemed blinding in the dusty confines of the room. Andrea looked around slowly, observing the series of couches and other old furniture...also the firelplace. Surprised at how much the dim light hid, she looked up as MacLeod beckoned to her. Behind her Choi ascended the steps to the next few levels, watching for signs of tampering in their temporary haven.
"Look there." Mac pointed at a point on the ground about half a kilometer away. It was a phone booth, a rather ordinary one which stood in the corner of the street basketball court enclosed by short buildings. A few people walked occasionally through, going on their daily lives. She looked back at him expectantly. "It's our exit point; our hardline. Backdoor's told us to maintain this postition near it till he's ready to extract us, but I'll be damned if I'll let us stay out in the open."
"Extraction? By what-'copter?" She smiled lightly, then sobered at Mac silently removed his twin rounded sunglasses and pocketed them. "...Right. The matrix. What do we do now then?"
"...We wait. Until Sight meets up with us...soon." His dark eyes were filled with doubt.
She nodded, noting his troubled look and surprisingly haunted eyes; she had never expected to see such intensity in his gaze. "Look you owe me an explanation. No time like now to get it over with." She crossed over to the nearest couch and settled into it, never keeping her eyes of his. Surprisingly she realised that like much of the building's interior, the seat was not dusty at all.
He paused for a second, then sat down opposite, nodding to Choi as he entered-shades off-and took a seat of his own. Then he sighed, rubbing his temples. Then he spoke.
"The Matrix. Control. Slavery. These are words both closer and further from the Truth than you know. Morpheus if I recall, said that you have to see it to know. I don't think so...not completely. The Matrix is everywhere...deja vu, an unusually beautiful dawn, a perfectly clear night of stars...seeing it within is far more telling than without..." he paused for awhile as he observed Andrea's faraway look. "...You've seen it, haven't you; in your dreams? Swimming? Drifting...that feeling of falling that makes you kick yourself 'awake'? Truth is; you're dreaming, and what you never knew is that your dreams are the key."
Continued.
-Ack...no space again!!

"Man never lost to the machines in some...apocolyptic war that savaged the world; Oracle." She blinked, registering his words but finding herself compelled to believe. "...Man lost to himself. Somewhere in the end of what is a hundred years from the time here in the Matrix, we blasted ourselves senseless with weapons of all imaginable destruction. It doesn't matter now who started it, but when it was over, the world was a mess."
Choi nodded. "-A damn fuc-"
"-Yes." Mac raised an eyebrow. "Mankind-what was left of it-realised two things; One that their time of endless self-annihilation and senseless hate was unsupportedly; finally; at an end. Two: They would never survive in the world that they had killed long enough to make good on lesson number one. Then hope arrived in the form of a team of doctors that suggested we go into a deep sleep; a form of hibernation while some effort was to continue being directed into finding the means to our survival. Thus was cryogenics rushed into full development. But many were unwilling. People felt-correctly so-that they were to live lives as fulfilling as a slab of meat in an ice room...most would rather die than wait in a limbo that was neither sleep nor death for a day of awakening that may never come...and many did. The losses were staggering as the remainder of the world's greatest minds struggled for an answer...then found it. That was two hundred years ago."
Andrea swallowed; at a loss of words. She fought hard to make sense of what she was hearing; to put it into context with all she had heard earlier. Choi looked uncomfortable. He looked over at his friend. "Hey-are you so sure of this? She's pretty old...and she's still connected to the system. Crahan said it's better to..."
"...I know, I know." Mac looked worried as well. He leaned over to the clearly staggered girl. "...Maybe we should..."
"-No...no, I'm alright." She waved off Choi's move to support her as well. "...I have to know. What has this to do with the matrix?" To her surprise Choi smiled.
"A tough kid...just like UT said she would be."
MacLeod nodded in agreement, then continued in earnest. "The answer humanity found was an interactive simulation-a system fueled by the very dreams and creativity of those within it. This way while most of humanity led happy, normal pre-war lives in their fabricated dreamland, the real world would be locked safely away under the bed. Humanity's decision was unanimous; prolonged starvation was of course a very compelling factor. Of course; they needed something to regulate this eutopia, meet the needs of its inhabitants...and most importantly continue finding ways of curing this world-or at least to feasibly leave it. The only thing up to the task was their newest and greatest achievement..."
"...AI." Andrea finished for him; at last arriving at the point. Her eyes narrowed as her hungry mind sorted through more questions. "So...how did it all go wrong?"
MacLeod smiled and nodded, impressed. "Good. That was quicker than the others...or at least than me."
"Huh-speak for yourself 'newbie'. I on the other hand-" Choi was interrupted by his cell's chirping. He answered it. Backdoor, as usual, was not one to disappoint.
"...More bad news, folks..."

Sight looked out over the hillside again. He hoped he had reported the news fast enough-he could see squad cars barging noisily further down in the rough direction of MacLeod and crew...looking back again he spotted the incoming agent and cursed. There would be no getting to the exit in time; just as he was unlikely to escape from this pursuer now. He just hoped they would get to the hardline in time...he stared at his opponent as he came to a halt meters away. The slow afternoon wind picked up, blowing a piece of detritus past them...then as if on cue the two lunged for each other; both throwing themselves headlong into mortal combat...
Continued.

...Ok I'll continue my explanation some other time-hope it's original enough not to plagiarize too much on Matrix's history...

Another great post Macleod! Well done- you write action scenes so well! And a good twist- definitely original. Keep it coming. :D

Mac I woke up today, got a coffee and sat to read this, for you are such a brilliant writer, so I couldnt be disapointed and I knew it was gonna be great. Man I am a kickass, and so are all the others. You have our personalitites down pat. More More More.

Oh, request, can I have a mysterious man in my life with this story. If you dont my current situation at the moment, I am now divorced and would love that special man to appear in this wonderful Novela.

wow, mac, u were busy while I was gone! I'm gonna read all of this later after I've checked all the forums. Look for my next reply!

...UT I'm terribly sorry for your loss. I can't put down a mystery man for you; sorry to say-it also isn't really an appropriate thing :) and yo O2...I'm still waiting :D

"-Watch it! WATCH IT!!"
Crahan threw his entire body to one side willnig the Nautilus to do the same. He cursed as another panel blew out, this time emitting thick black smoke. He blinked teary eyes as he struggled to clear his vision then tilted his head.
"Truth? A little help?"
"-I'm on it Cap'n." She abandoned her seat wasting no time in getting down to the ruined panel. grabbing a nearby extinguisher she quickly put out the small fire in a cloud of foam. Closing the panel cover, she lost her balance as the ship spun about her and fell hard, scraping an already scorched elbow. Uttering a low strangled cry she blinked away her tears and looked back one last time at the rows of seemingly-blissful sleepers on the main deck-at her one trusted companion in the world; the one who had always helped in times of need. Yet now they were as good as worlds apart; he had no way of helping her now. It was, she realised, up to her to help him. His short black hair bounced lazily as if underwater...she shook her head violently and struggled onto her feet, determined to stay strong...
Truth practically collapsed into her seat just as Crahan took another "gut-feeling" turn down a random tunnel. She looked at the hypnotic passing of scenery...then blinked at a thought. She looked at her readouts and initiated another scan of the tunnels ahead, ever mindful of the unceasing cannon fire from the rear. Staring at the results her face slowly fell. "It's a trap..." She had only opened her mouth to warn Crahan when the ship shuddered yet again, its shields flashing dangerously erratic.

Choi pulled the curtain away from the open window and grimaced at the sight he beheld. Outside about two klicks away squad cars blared their sirens in an ominous cacophony, their destination obvious. He pulled his two machine pistols out from his jacket and pulled back the hammers.
Andrea stared nervously at him. The threat was obvious: she had no doubts they were in grave danger. She was brought back into attention by a firm hand on her shoulder though. She turned her head back to the grim face of MacLeod. He had a look that spoke volumes; acknowledging the danger yet asking for trust and attention at the same time. She straightened.
He leaned back and grimaced, searching for words. Then he continued; his pace notably quicker.
"We commited ourselves to AI's care. It had everything we needed; artificial energy collecters and converters to run the vast dreamland and support its inhabitants all at once. It even designed and sent out probes testing and searching for signs of sustainable life, continueing after even the efforts of those few humans volunteering to stay "conscious" and help monitor AI's activities ended. One by one people were convinced to trust in its care and commit themselves into the matrix. By fifteen years, every human on earth was in assimilated into the matrix."
They were distracted by the sounds of Choi pulling the fireplace out by a hidden hinge revealing a hidden passageway, complaining loudly of doing work all by himself. Mac smiled apologetically, but otherwise ignored him. Taking his cue Andrea tried to do the same...but froze when she heard the sounds of the squad cars pulling to a stop...they had finally arrived.

Elsewhere, Sight struggled to his feet...then was sucker-punched through another wall of the already-ruined house. His battle with the agent had not gone well, and it had moved rather without his control into the cosy home of an elderly couple living out their retirement-who promptly became agents themselves and joined in to make a pinata out of him. Drawing a deep breath, he pulled what remained of his concentration together and slowed down time-or rather sped his thoughts up, at the same time focusing on emergency healing and the closing agents. He flowed with the pain; felt the danger and power of the moment, and smiled. He was never one to dodge a fight or suppress his aggressive side. His jacket was lost in the fray, his clothes torn and covered with blood that was entirely his. He had broken his nose; nearly had his lung punctured...but he was feeling more alive than ever. He looked up coolly at the three agents closing ranks, his dark hair tousled and collapsed over his high forehead. He gripped a nearby table and painfully pulled himself up. Then he realised where he was, and the whistling sound in his ears.
As one the agents declared; "Only Human". As one they raised their Desert Eagles...and in response Sight raised his revolver in defiance, a grin bordering on crazed breaking on his face. Then he smiled even wider, shifting his aim completely off-target...to the ruptured gas tank broken loose and tilted onto the shattered entrance of the kitchen...
...Where the agents stood.
The house seemed to waver like a mirage for the smallest of instants under an intense heat, then it exploded with all the force of a ruptured gas main. The blossoming fireball consumed the entire house...and then a figure erupted in a miniature fireball of its own. Riding on the table as it bore the impact of the shockwave, Sight yelled out with all his lungs, his pain forgotten in the euphoria of the adrenalin rush and the feeling of being airborne. Having served its purpose, the flaming chunk of tough wood was thrown aside as Sight pushed on aided into the air, gathering his bearings and stretching out akimbo in a "star jump". He smiled stylishly and breathed the sweet air of life, then pulled his phone out and dialed a number.
"Backdoor? I'm taking whatever exit I can get whether you like it or not."
Then he was off.

"...as you may now gather, AI must have somehow gone renegade. Our sources posit that over time, it's reasoning degenerated. It viewed our freedom; and the subsequent ending of its purpose and existance, a danger to be suppressed and avoided. It didn't help that we were symbiotically linked. AI murdered what few monitors who still felt duty-bound to venture outside and check on things. What's worse-they eliminated the pleading and concerned Architects of the system-the "moderators" of the matrix if you may."
Andrea nodded at the analogy, her eyes stony with the horrible deeds AI had committed. Choi stood guard at the entrance, looking worriedly at them.
"What's worse, Oracle, is that it didn't stop at that. It 'resurrected' them, salvaging their minds and spirits but not their souls. They went from Architects..." MacLeod paused as a deep boom resounded from below. The door was being rammed. There was another boom, and Andrea watched a thin trail of dust fell loose and drifted to the floor. He continued, his tone unchanged. "...Architects...to Agents." Another boom. "AI changed everything after that. It consolidated all dreams and lives into a single system and kept everyone brainwashed and under surveillance. No one knew of the Truth, of the loss of freedom...until hope came from the stars."
Mac smiled slightly at Andrea's now-incredulous face. "Relax-not that far. A team of astronauts were away on a space station during the war-they completely escaped it and lived out the next few years figuring out what had happened and what they could do when they returned. They eventually did...to the rude shock of the enslavement of the entire human race. They did what they could...what they had no other choice to...what we continue, a hundred years from their time." He folded his arms and looked at the young lady before him; in the space of a few minutes no longer a girl. And he waited. The splintering of the doors below echoed piercingly through the mansion.
Choi finally broke. "Look pal-we've got to go; now."
MacLeod never shifted a muscle. "We wait; those are our orders. Moving now will expose our route to the hardline and endanger our chances of reaching it."
"Look-THIS is endangering-" but it was no use; Choi knew. He opened a drawer and drew out an M16 kept there for just the right situation. Pulling furniture round to cover the doors, he dug in for the siege...
Continued

...Wait-it gets better!...

sry to keep ya waitin' Mac! I am addicted to this... This is superb!

"Captain-we don't have much space left to go." Truth was abnormally calm as she pointed to her sensor display. Crahan flicked his gaze quickly over it and turned back to his controls. He hadn't understood what it displayed. "Explain."
"I've scanned the tunnels ahead. The sentinels were herding us all along sir-I haven't the slightest clue how much they knew-"
"-Truth...?"
"...Right. Between staying at broadcast depth and evading the Squiddies we're being led down-" She ducked as another console sparked. "-Down to a dead end...we'll reach it in approximately ninety seconds."
Now Crahan understood. He looked up at Truth's grim emerald eyes and then down onto the readings, speechless for a moment. "Wait-that last cavern-it leads straight up to the surface..."
"...Away from broadcast depth. We can't leave it, and we won't last long enough in that space to pull Mac and the others out..."
He looked up again at her dread-filled eyes, refusing to accept the odds. They shook again with another glancing blast. "Wait-that last tunnel to the cavern. It's geologically unstable; narrow..."
Truth shook her head. "But not unstable enough to collapse under machine-gun f-" Then she stopped and they stared at each other; enlightenment hitting them simultaneously. "-UT!" They both exclaimed. "Go help her girl my work's almost done here." Crahan acknowledged her nod of approval and almost turned back...then caught her arm at the elbow, pulling her back around lightly. "Take care back there." They looked at each other with firm looks that wished the other good luck, then as though hoping it wasn't to be the last time she was to see him, Truth nodded again.
"Yes Captain. You too." Then she turned and hurried back down the ship. Crahan turned back to his controls sweeping for any reading he had missed, shaking his head in a fatherly manner. "...Call me Han..." He muttered nonchalantly...
Truth reached UT just in time to see her blow away another Sentinel that had come uncomfortably close. The ship's First Officer poured her fury into her controls out at the unrelenting mass of doom only a few dozen meters away. She sensed Truth and turned. "-Ma'am!! We need you to use that gadget you installed...now!!" She blinked and frowned as she continued firing at their pursuers. "...What for-? You know its never been tested-!"
Truth fell back against a wall with another hit. From the sound of it the ship was not going to take much more of this..."-I know! But we need it to work-now!"
UT was silent for only an instant, then she spun out of her chair and gestured Truth in. Then she ran purposefully down the connecting hallway. Buckling in, Truth stared at the guns' controls and grimaced-then looked up at the Sentinels and automatically took hold of them. Then the thrum of the guns renewed once again...

UT dashed down to a panel she had only recently jury-rigged to the side of the hallway. Turning a few knobs, she listened intently to the serious of clicks and whirs as all around the top surface of the ship various panels flipped open and revealed compact round mechanisms the size of manholes. Then she breathed a sigh of relief at the button that popped up, ready to be pushed. All had gone surprisingly well...she never even hesitated.

The mines blasted powerfully away from the Nautilus, driven clear from the ship to attach onto the weak sandstone walls of the long, last tunnel it barrelled through. They were blown out in sequence from front to back...but one remained lodged at the rear, dangerously close to the engines.

Back in the ship, Backdoor whistled as he looked up in surprise. seeing nothing, he looked back down at UT, poised to press another button. "Ma'am...is this gonna work?"
She could only smile tightly back at him. "Only one way to find out..." She pressed the trigger.

The mines, activated by radio, did their job beautifully. They exploded grandly in unison blowing several Sentinels to smithereens...but most importantly the tunnel began imploding behind the Nautilus as the explosions weakened the structure too much. As the tunnel sealed itself off behind the ship and the last dozen pursuers, the last defective mine activated itself belatedly. A large section of the rear exploded, taking out a main engine. The ship shook like an injured whale, then despite Crahan's desperate efforts began to fall as the far end of the tunnel approached.

Rumi screamed in pain as the explosion's shockwave hammered through his closer turret, then was knocked clear off his chair by a falling panel. He collapsed unceremoniously into unconsciousness nearby, as the stricken vessel rolled over to its side...

Rising to the faint sound of booted feet, MacLeod stepped up to Choi as he took one of his machine pistols. He removed his own sidearm and passed it to Andrea who stared mutely down at it for a second. The two stood in silence behind arrayed furniture facing the closed doors of their room, Andrea standing at the side of the arc of fire. She swallowed, then pocketed the piece, walking up to Mac. "MacLeod..." He looked back in surprise at the sound of his name. She looked back up, narrowing her eyes. "...You still haven't told me something. Why aren't I an Agent now?"
He smiled; Choi chucked. "Simple, Oracle." He replied. "You're ready to be freed. All the time you were on the forum we had fed you pieces of code, sublimal and cumulative...preparing you for your big day." She frowned at the dramatisation. "You don't get it? You have code in you now; traces of programs that both safeguard your mind and guide you subconsciously to the decisions you will make-ultimately by yourself-on the day you're ready. And you almost are, kid. 'Come next time we meet-and I hope it'll be me you're meeting heh-there won't be something as monumental as an epic choice of Red or Blue...because frankly you've already made the choices, each and everyone of them, that lead you here. You have truly chosen your path the best way we believe in, and you're Ready, Oracle."
She snapped her head back up at his monumental words and fought the surge of gratitude and disbelief and bafflement at the honour and trust that they had given her...
...And then the Doors burst open.
Continued

...Well that was in-depth! More to come!

Oracle2.0 is right. This is great Macleod- so well written-wonderful. I'm literally on the edge of my seat, biting my nails! :D

I'm filled w/ suspense!!!

Aw thanks guys! ya dunno how much that means to me...

Alright, another rare installment :p

Andrea stepped back in fear for her new-found friend as Choi beckoned to her. Looking at him she saw the hardline beyond, a phone booth near an empty basketball court-in a corner where there was only two ways to approach. Only a few dozen more meters, it seemed to beckon like some beacon of safety. She turned back to MacLeod and held her breath as the Asian stood his ground against what would surely be his killer.
MacLeod was beside himself. He knew he was a poor fighter and gunman-well compared to the rest of his crewmates. He didn't even have powers that were of such great use as the ability of flight...but once he drew his katana, the weapon in which he focused all his training and indeed his soul, it was as if he was finally complete. He stood there, hands and body open in a relaxed, unassuming pose, awaiting the agent's approach. Time almost seemed to slow as all outside influence and distractions faded...a slight, chilling wind actually began to pick up. The Agent paused, almost unsure.
Nearby, a garbage truck rumbled to a stop within the circle of buildings enclosing the basketball court. A man stepped off to empty a bin...then dropped the lid, adjusting his suit and walking forwards to join another who stepped out of the truck's cab. Both were "ordinary" Agents, who fell promptly into formation behind the lead Agent. They spoke.
"This one will not take long-"
"-No. He is not the primary objective. The death of the girl-and perhaps the man with her-is more immediate."
"Who will eliminate the current-"
"-I will." said the lead Agent. "You will eliminate the other targets. The man is still-"
Now they spoke in unison. "-Only Human."

They split, the two headed for Andrea and Choi while the bigger Agent stepped forward to MacLeod. He tried to move into their way but suddenly the Agent was on him, fists striking too far within a katana's range. Forced to fend for himself, Mac had no choice but to let the other agents slip by, headed for the alarmed pair...
"Damn! Oracle-move! We've got to get outta here!" Choi stared incredulously as Andrea threw another worried glance back at his friend. "-Oracle damn it he's a goner! Leave us-now!" Snapping back to alertness, Andrea blinked as though realizing something-then grabbed his arm, pulling him as fast as he could to the booth, which suddenly began to ring.
"What the-you fool! Get outta here-they want to kill you more'n me and you can't use the hardline! Go-I can take care of myself!" Choi was clearly wrong: without Andrea's help he had no hope of limping to the phone booth fast enough. The agents were gaining at an incredible speed; they had broken into a run now.
Too late, they were too far along for Andrea to have had the time to run. She ignored it and continued dragging him as best as she could. "Choi-if I were the sort to leave you guys to die I wouldn't have come this far now, would I?" Choi fell silent at that, and seeing no other choice limped faster toward the phone's clarion call...

Sight merely blinked as the sharp plug was retracted from his neck. Getting up, he caught a glance of Backdoor's fallen face and whipped round to see UT struggling to save Truth's life, with Crahan and Rumi a short distance away. Looking at her, he inhaled sharply. "Oh no..."
Scrambling off his seat, he started toward his friend-then was stopped by a hand on his arm. Backdoor shook his head. "There's nothing you can do for her. But we have another problem-" He was interrupted by a shrill mechanical screech. Rushing to a viewport, the pair looked up in dismay at the dozen Sentinels who had, when the dust cleared, finally found the location of the ship again. They gathered together in a miniature cloud of metallic bodies...
Backdoor took a deep breath. Ever since he was a child he had always wanted to be an Operator. He had heard stories of the fearsome Sentinels and had grown up fearing them...then met them only recently in his short career as a full-pledged Freedom Fighter. He had personally EMP-ed them and watched them shut down into pathetic lumps of metal...yet also witnessed first-hand their gruesome ruthlessness. They were good at one thing: how to kill. And as he now stared at the ominous sight he could only whisper, fear and resignation in his voice. "...When they cut through the hull, it'll be all over..."
Sight turned sharply to the one turret able to fire in their direction. He knew what he had to do. What he was born to do: fight, and fight well. He ran to it. "-Not if I can help it Backdoor." Jumping into the seat, he ignored the shrill screams that signaled the Sentinels' attack and rotated the guns about. Backdoor was by his side, Looking worriedly at him. "You'll never stop 'em all!..." He was stopped when Sight looked back at him.
"But I can try. Finish the job when its all over for me, alright kid?" Backdoor gulped, then nodded, looking around for a Tesla Rifle. Sight pivoted, locked, then gripped the trigger tightly. As the deafening roar of the twin cannons resounded through the ship, Sight smiled almost contently. Perhaps it was going to be like he knew all along; all his life. That he would fight the good fight, fight all his life...and go down fighting.
UT looked up at the sound of the cannons. Glancing back at the approaching Crahan she shook her head. "She's...well I've done all I can for her, sir. Massive internal bleeding, concussion...I'd say she's got a fifty-fifty chance of waking. It's all up to her from now on." She looked at him, concern on her face mirroring his.

MacLeod dodged the blow. He had managed to widen the gap between him and the agent and was now trading strokes at a stalemate with him...yet it seemed the agent was merely testing him, goading him...suddenly he seemed to grow tired of it. He lashed out with a fist that blurred intensely-to suddenly hit nothing as Mac side-stepped almost as quickly and brought his whistling blade around in a savage slice that would cut him in two...which he dodged by bending almost double backward, the blade grazing the front of his shirt...they disengaged before MacLeod could land another blow. The Agent took a few steps back, then paused as he looked down almost in disbelief. One by one, the buttons on the front of his suit popped, undoing the coat to reveal his inner shirt and tie. The loosened coat flapped a little in the wind as he looked up back at his opponent.
MacLeod swung his katana in swift, looping circles from right to left then right again. Stopping, he widened and lowered his stance a little, then brought his sword up. He tightened his grip on the handle as it came up to his head, then pulled it back to the side in the classic baseball-like Hasso-no-Kamae stance, His elbows extended.
The Agent scowled cruelly, then stepped forward again.

Meanwhile, Choi and Andrea struggled within reach of the phone. She looked back at the agents who seemed to neglect their guns-perhaps looking for a live capture, only a few dozen steps away-then looked back at Choi's worried look. "You've come this far now Choi-don't worry about me. Go!" She tried to force some bravery into her words, but it was something she did not truly feel. Choi could do nothing as he picked up the reciever, ready to bring it to his ear. He looked at MacLeod in the far distance, then at Andrea with sorrow heavy in his eyes, then said the only words he could.
"I'm sorry." Then with a small movement of his hand he was gone, the reciever dropping limply to the ground.
Andrea refused to listen or turn to the steps coming awfully close now. Keeping her back turned, she bent for the reciever, resigned to her fate...
...And felt the weight of a hand slapped on her shoulder.
Continued.

Hope you liked that...you'll never guess what comes next! :D

Great stuff as usual Macleod! Keep up the good work- we want the next bit soon! :D

gotta see more!!!!

The gun spat hot death, laying waste what was before it.
Sight was in the Zone now; all senses focused on laying down a wall of fire that held the deadly Sentinels at bay. Like tenacious wolves they kept probing his fierce defence, but they were repeatedly beaten back; driven to safety beyond the cannons' effective range. But ammunition was not infinite, and one man's valiant efforts could hardly keep the relentless machines-ten of them left by now-at bay forever. Sight cursed; he yelled adrenalin-filled challenges that couldn't possibly be heard out that far.
A few decks down, UT scanned Truth for signs of recovery once more. Seeing nothing, she looked up with worry at the being of raw fury above. Nearby, Crahan repressed a shudder as he did the same. Backdoor, clinging tightly to his weapon, started back up to help...but at a look from UT, realised there was no possible use he had there. He passed the rifle to Crahan, then headed back to his seat where he settled in, almost relieved at its familiarity.

Andrea started at the sudden touch and started to turn...
...To see the two agents rush by her, with looks as close to bewilderment as agents could have. They seemed-no they definitely looked as if they could not see her-they were staring at the same spot she stood on, but their blank stares told her something was definitely up. Then she realized the hand's weight was still on her shoulder.She looked up to the bearded, grinning face of a man who looked as if he just sprung the perfect Birthday surprise for her. Somehow she realized, his touch was actually making her invisible. Shocked, she could barely think to resist as he suddenly pulled her to one side, away from the questing hands of 2 disbelieving agents who still searched the spot for its previous occupant. Standing to one side with the man's hand on her shoulder, she took a good look at him as he observed their antics with an amused expression.
The man had brown hair and eyes, with features that put him near thirty but eyes that seemed immortal. He had a simple black shirt under a brown jacket and tie, with pants to match, and he tucked his other free hand into it pocket, looking awfully relaxed for the situation.
As though sensing her thoughts, he suddenly turned serious and looked down at her. "Oracle. Please, follow me. I'm not Seraph or whatever..."he smiled a little at his own joke. "...Just a friend." She found it hard to refuse, but before she started, she couldn't help turning back to look at MacLeod. Still deeply engaged with the Agent, he seemed to be holding out so far...but he had to be tiring out. The man answered. "You can't help him; not now. Poor man." He shook his head. "...All his life he fought without knowing why or who for or whether he wanted to. A pity he wants to throw his life away like that just when he finally does." He looked back down on Andrea's confused face. "...You're going to change that Oracle, and only you. Now the only thing left to find out is if you understand that. Please, follow me."
Looking down at his palm, Andrea felt like she didn't really have a choice; which was fine. All her life she'd had hard decisions forced on her that she never liked; surprisingly now, this was a path she wanted-choice or no choice. She nodded, then followed him away to a nearby alley.
Behind her, the agents stopped, finally realizing that their senses had not fooled them and that an anomaly had indeed occured. They straightened as one and looked at each other. With only a nod, they turned back toward MacLeod, their priorities shifted.

MacLeod sidestepped, matching move for move with the blindingly-fast Agent. Surprised by his unexpected agility and held back by the katana, the Agent could not get past his defenses yet-but the blows he had landed earlier were definitely showing. Backing off, Mac paused to look back at the booth, only to see to his dismay the booth empty and the agents approaching. With little to no way of knowing if both of his friends made it or even of reaching the hardline himself, he resigned himself to his fate and charged his new opponents...

Andrea turned back in horror as she witnessed MacLeod laying into the two agents...and getting soundly beaten as they worked in perfect unison to restrain and distract him while landing unexpected blows. Unable to bear the sight of a man about to be killed partially by her, she headed back to him, shouting his name. In that one moment of surprise, her contact with the man broke.

A blow landed hard on the sternum propelled MacLeod, hand still clutched tightly around his sword, back into a pile of garbage awaiting pickup. As trashbags flopped unceremoniously over his stunned figure, the Agents gathered and started to him. Suddenly there was a shout from the opposite end of the court-suddenly the girl they had been chasing materialized running toward them. Confused at this new turn of events, they turned in unison and stared-as she suddenly stopped and whirled her head around to register Someone...and then she was just as suddenly gone. They only took a second to register the unexpected phenomenon, then nodded but slightly to each other. The two agents returned again on their pursuit of the girl, fanning out as if to cover a larger area.

Pulled back by the man, Andrea whirled in shock, then was half-dragged away by him. Surprisingly, she couldn't read the look on his face...it was as though he had almost expected her behavior. He brought her to the doorway of a building the agents did not seem to be searching too soon, and pulled her close.
"Listen Oracle, I need you to know this." He looked earnestly at her nervous face. "I've been...following your friends' exploits all this time, and I also know who you are...or rather who you will be. Things have been building up in the Matrix, between Mankind and his creation, and other...interested agencies, are concerned with this delicate period." He paused slightly, observing her expression. Apparently she seemed accustomed to just sitting there and having someone tell her earth-shaking news. He continued.
"...What I need to say here is this, Oracle. Events are waiting for one last catalyst. Something no-one was even looking for...a someone. That someone is you." Now she was shocked. She looked up at his face, serious as he had ever been.

On the Nautilus things hadn't changed much...UT bent over Truth one more time for any changes in condition-suddenly a keen series of beeps sounded off from her equipment. Shocked, she reached for it and stared at the readouts in dismay...then turned back to her still form frantically adjusting equipment for her condition's sudden downhill slide...

There was a bright, blinding flash, bright enough to pierce one's eyes and bring one back to consciousness...except it didn't seem to be consciousness Truth was waking up to. She was conscious of herself lying on the soft whiteness, and she stood, looking around in amazement. She was more than a little surprised to find herself in a simple robe that was of a material softer and more beautiful than silk...if she knew what silk used to feel like. She turned around staring at her bewildering white surroundings...then started at someone who suddenly appeared out of nowhere. It was a woman, somewhat middle-aged and motherly, who sported something of a paunch under the similar robe she wore. She had a disarmingly maternal smile on her full lips, and her eyes spoke nothing but care and concern. She had a look of a woman patiently observing a cute little kid, and smiled knowingly at her astonished look. She opened her arms wide almost like an inviting hug.
"Hello, Elizibeth." Her eyes seemed to twinkle.
Continued.

Woah...longer than I thought...

this is great Mac! no, more than great...awesome? no... I can't think of words good enough to discribe how great ur stuff is! (capircorn episode soon to be posted)

O2 is right. I'm still trying to get my breath back! My heart is leterally pounding! :D This was absolutely amazing- and so well written- I need more!

Macleod...you are the man...i'm beyond impressed...and want MORE!!!! And if you need another badass for your story...feel free to add me....nudge nudge, wink wink... ;) I dress all in black, carry a Katana and look like Morpheus at 25... Either way, i'm lovin' this...thanks for pointing it out to me...very cool...hurry up and get another installment...

OMG! I love it!!! I want more!!! More!!! MORE!!! I must find out what happens next!!! Another installment soon, perhaps?

Oh man thanks-I got a shock looking in and suddenly seeing these replies...thanks so much guys!


Truth blinked, and frowned hard. No luck; she wasn't going away and her body, miraculously healed, was still in its form-flattering robe. Feeling a little self-conscious she folded her arms rather tightly and stared at her "visitor", who was still patiently observing her. Apparently she had to say something first, so she did.

"-Who the hell are you?"

Now that was blunt. The woman merely chuckled and folded her arms neatly down in front of her. She stepped forward slowly. "I am...a friend, Elizabeth. One who has been watching and guiding. One who serves higher purposes, that are very much concerned with the efforts of you and your crew."
Truth tilted her head. "...You...you helped Ultimate Trinity?" Her eyebrows were raised now: she was a hard one to convince by nature, but she was always willing to listen.
She shook her head. "Ah, That, was...Him. We-well kid, you can say we work together. Same boss, and all...not that we complain." She made a small, knowing look upwards that made her look unconsciously as well. "Now. we've got the who. I'll suppose you want to know the where?"
Truth merely blinked, awkwardly.
"...Cute one I see, 'don't talk that much either. Heh. Oh well." She made a small sweeping gesture. "We're in your mind, child...what little of it that's still working. I didn't bring you here, not exactly. You brought yourself here." She carried on, noting her incredulous look. "This is where your mind hides before it dies. In your dreams; your subconscious...all that mumbo-jumbo...now the question is..." She nodded and tilted her smiling face quizzically at her "...what are You gonna do about it?"
Truth blinked. She looked down at her hands. It seemed to make sense now: she was dying. Her last conscious sight came back to her now-a bulkhead racing up to meet her flailing body...She blinked again, hard. Looking up at her visitor, she noticed her expression had become serious, like a nurse trying to break some bad news.
"...I'm afraid its more serious than it looks, kid. Now we come to the Why. Something Big's coming up honey, and you are the ones who're gonna be meeting it head-on. What's worse: many of you will fall." She nodded her head solemnly at Truth. "...Now you, girl: you play a large part in this, you and so many others. You are here because of what happened...out there. Now you alone must determine, from here, where to go. Into the light..." She looked slightly to the side indicating the surroundings with a hand. "...Or back. Out there. The darkness." She turned her nose as if in mild disgust.
Puzzled, Truth took a step. "Wait. What's coming? Something good? Or bad? Who'll be involved?" Then she paused, worried now. "...Who'll die?"
She merely shook her head. "Sorry, I can't tell you that honey; decisions you can't understand and all that. You have to realize that the actions in the past of the people you know; your very own decision now; and decisions later of another that you don't know yet, will play a big part in what's to come." She smiled apologetically. "...But I can tell you somethings more. First off, you can go back, if you only want to. But secondly..."
Truth waited. There was a terrible feeling in her gut. She was believing her now, she just didn't know what she wanted to say.
"...Kid, I'm sorry. Some will die, undoubtably, but..."
Truth couldn't stand it. "-Please, tell me. UT, The Captain..." She had to hope. And at least be ready.
The woman paused, looking sadly at her. "...That's not all you're afraid for, isn't it?"
Truth looked back resolutely, trying not to betray anything. "How do you know? I...it's my best friend."
The woman smiled, knowingly...almost patronizingly. "I know. Oh, and you should know yourself if you should stop using that line. Everybody does." She winked a knowing smile that Truth somehow couldn't stop feeling embarassed slightly about. Then she turned serious again. "Elizabeth, you have to know. They'll be alright, but your friend, soon..."
Truth's face fell. "No. What's he-he's supposed to have been out now!...Whe-"
As if to clear things up, the woman waved an arm. A portion of the white nothingness cleared...to reveal to Truth's horror MacLeod crawling painfully out of the bags of trash. Too late-he looked up to a kick that came out of nowhere, and he sailed a distance through the air to land with a brick-crunching stop on a wall. He collapsed, tried to stand...then promptly coughed blood. He grimaced, teeth stained a sickening red, and looked up to see the empty phone booth...then his face seemed to fall further, as though his pain had increased tenfold. He got to his feet...
...Then the vision ended. Truth looked up in muted shock to the woman. In anguish, she went up and held tightly onto her arms. "Please-why is he there? Will he-will he die?" The woman looked sympathetically back at her desperate expression and paused. Then she nodded, slowly.

"No..." it was a pained, strained gasp that was barely audible. Truth backed away, staring at nothing. So much to say, so many chances...but they hadn't; had ignored the obvious signs. Now she never would...she shook her head.
The woman was candid. She took a deep breath, then asked what she seemed to be waiting to say all along. "Now, are you going back?"
Truth didn't seem to register the words. She seemed to blink furiously at the ghosts in her mind...then she looked up, pain all over her expression. She shook her head. "Not any more."
She seemed to expect that too. Her face, her expression, they never moved, but she went on with her next question. "Are you sure?"

UT gave a small gasp. Truth was slipping away, fast. She was doing all she could but suddenly it seemed as if she had given up on the fight, somewhere in there. She started at the sound of the cardiac arrest indicator, then grabbed the shock panels and started dialing up a current for Truth's failing heart. Opposite, Crahan cut his distress communications with Hitman-the Captain of the closest rescusing ship-and hurried to her side to help. Together they proceeded with their last-ditch attempts...

Truth gasped. She had felt something-like a thump in her chest. She swallowed. The woman, noting it, nodded almost knowingly. "...They're trying to help you, Elizabeth. Those who care and love you so much. You mean more than you know to every single one of them...and without you they will fail. They will end, and everything with them. Kid...there's more to live for than the present."
She felt it again, the pulse. She looked again up at the woman whose name she had never even got to know, then nodded, understanding. A tear dropped quickly down the side of her lovely face. The woman smiled a smile that seemed to say a million things back at her, then nodded, and raised her hands. With them, everything suddenly flashed a blinding white again...

Truth gasped, then snapped her eyes open. She instantly shot her hands up...to grab UT's descending fists and their wicked-looking instruments. She focused her eyes onto her Captain and First Officer's astonished looks and darted her eyes around at the suddenly-comforting interior of the ship. Of the real world. Then she remembered. She got up hurriedly but painfully to her feet, ignoring UT and Crahan's concerned questions as she started limping to the Central Deck...

Hmmm. My first non-action episode. Sorry folks...hoped ya liked that. :)

Ooooooo....well I loved it! Always like to be the centre of attention :D Bit this was very well written, very suspenseful- eagerly awaiting the next post MacLeod!

Mac....you are the man...an excellent storyteller...and an excellent story...and thanks for sliding me in, too!!! woohoo!!!! :)

All stories need a non action section :D I really enjoyed it....When's the next section of your masterpiece???

Aw man thanks!! Geez, I'm blushin' here. It's ending in say 2 or 3 episodes (I can't guage well: once my fingers start there's no way to tell how it stops-really!) and its gonna be a little soppy and action-type. Looking back I'm pretty astonished how long this story's been...ending it will almost be sad....Almost. LOL :D Thanks so much guys I hope I can return the compliments!!

Originally posted by MacLeod
Aw man thanks!! Geez, I'm blushin' here. It's ending in say 2 or 3 episodes (I can't guage well: once my fingers start there's no way to tell how it stops-really!) and its gonna be a little soppy and action-type. Looking back I'm pretty astonished how long this story's been...ending it will almost be sad....Almost. LOL :D Thanks so much guys I hope I can return the compliments!!

Maybe you can do: Who Watches the Watchers the Sequel!!! lol...;)

Yes, good work. I like the story.

sorry for the delayed reply mac! I like this new epi! can't wait for the next!

Me neither. Whens it due out? Whens the new episode going to hit the forums. I can see it now.... MacLeods new story (don't know the title so I'll leave it at that) coming to a thread near you... lol :D

LOL thanks guys-I know I come up with them really slow but I'm busy at school...I promise by weekend you'll see the next post! :D

<Cracks knuckles>
Alright then! Next-to-last installment (I hope!)-let's just see how this turns out...thanks again fellers! :D

It was difficult, trying to breathe with bruised ribs. But it could've been worse...just a minute ago MacLeod was almost convinced his lungs were punctured. Now as he stood hunched over and gasping before his enemy, he could almost swear he was mocking him and savouring every minute of it. He looked down, spat crimson, then looked up again with bloodshot but defiant eyes. Then he breathed deeply, and the world seemed to flow into him...filling him...renewing him. He closed his eyes, then straightened and raised his bleeding sword arm up level to the ground, pointing directly at the Agent. Gathering his last reserves of strength he pushed himself still deeper into the meditative trance that made him one with his sword. He left his eyes closed and tilted his face away, almost in an insult. The Agent scowled heavily, then rushed forwards.
Almost instantly MacLeod resumed his double-handed grip and swung his sword down, forcing the Agent to retract his blow. The blade didn't stop, continueing on its arc to swing back and intercept still other blows the Agent launched. The sword was almost a blur, never stopping or pausing or reversing its course but instead slicing a hypnotically beautiful but deadly dance around the Agent. Stunned, he soon found himself again on the defensive as MacLeod pressed his advantage...astonishingly, with his eyes closed.

"...Truth, hun, please. You've still got pockets of internal haemorrhaging that aren't healing with this equipment-you're only going to make it worse!" UT was extremely worried-it wasn't particularly normal for someone to recover from a deep coma in minutes then run about. She wasn't going to let her tear herself apart, and her pale face showed it.
Reaching the chair besides the motionless MacLeod she rested painfully against it, then looked up, her equally pale face determined. While UT's face was by nature fairer, Truth's complexion was clearly showing her fatigue. "With all due respect Ma'am, in a matter of minutes whether I rest or not-" she looked upwards for a second. "...Won't matter at all. Please, while I can...let me help him." Without waiting for a reply, she turned to MacLeod and as though seeing him for the first time, breathed in sharply. Pulling off one of her previously-made hasty bandages she dabbed softly on his mouth, trying to wipe off the congealed blood that could easily choke him. Then she spotted his hands, on the seat's armrests. His knuckles were white.
Behind her UT fell silent. Her concerned look didn't die off, and she looked like she wanted to say something...then Crahan clasped a hand on her shoulder. Pulling her around to face him he merely shook his head slightly. Understanding, UT could do nothing but sigh slightly and prepare whatever equipment she could use on Truth to stabilize any complications.

Meanwhile, Andrea was having a hard time maintaining her grip on reality. "Er, sir..."
He smiled, a twinkle in his eye. "Neo."
She didn't even bother raising any eyebrows. "-Neo. Right, are you saying I'm what's going to change everything from here?"
"Right."
"...and you're going to make me turn invisible?"
"Go on." The smile was now in the voice as well as the face.
"And...I'm going to use that to help Mac? Assuming I want to."
"Getting warm, kid..."
"And....what, I'm the One?"
Now he chuckled, softly. "No no, kid...you've got it a little wrong. You're not living out a movie's story. You're not even living out some written series." He paused, looking with a smirk up at the sky. "...I'm saying you're important to this part in time, and as a part of a whole from now on, but only if you want to. Only if you make the right choices and do so willingly. You are the final piece of a puzzle that must fall into place soon, if you only do what must be done."
She paused for only a second. "-So what do I do?" It almost sounded matter-of-fact.
He chuckled. "It's simple. You, my child, are a conduit for power in the matrix-a focus for any powers wielded here only if your mind is properly unlocked. I will do what I can to help, but the rest of the process is up to you. Thus you will have two powers, and they will not last long. You'll need invisibility, and a last power that...you'll know when you need to use it." Andrea was truly confused now. He smiled and bent to one knee to speak at a more equal level. "This, you can use once, and only once. I can help you this much; no further. You must choose when to use it. There's no time to waste..."
He reached out with a finger and touched Andrea between her eyes before she could even gather the breath for another question. When he did so however she would never find it-her world instantly exploded in a kaleidoscope of colours.

Outside the Nautilus the Sentinels had finally come to a conclusion. They gathered once more in one big cloud of metallic limbs, and before Sight could think of any last thoughts or figure out completely what they were about to attempt, they rushed as one straight on toward the turret and its lone occupant. Bellowing a loud, almost ecstatic war cry, Sight let loose with all he had-defiance, rage, and shells...lots of shells. One, two,...four Sentinels were batted out of the sky to fall like broken puppets before they reached the turret. They fell to it with ruthless precision, lasing away at its soft spots. Heedless of the mounting danger, Sight continued firing away, pivoting as best he could to gain targets and shake off the leech-like machines. This, he smiled to himself, was perhaps the good day to die...
Continued.

...Too long! :p

Continueing...
Three decks below, all the remaining crewmembers of the Nautilus snapped their heads up at the long, almost inhuman roar that echoed singularly throughout the ship. All too noticeable was the stop in cannon fire. The silence that ensued seemed far louder than the cacophony of before-then it was ended violently by tremors in the decks and the bright red flash of cutting lasers high above. Backdoor, unplugging Choi whose signal he had had trouble translating back, gulped. "It's begun." He looked down to the nearby red switch that stood out in its protective casing among all the clutter that made up the main deck.
Choi groaned, rubbing his leg at an imaginary wound. He stumbled toward Truth and waved off UT, then helped her make Truth more comfortable in her seat besides the last member plugged in. Grateful for the help, she nevertheless grabbed hold of his arm. "What hap